Advertisement

Red Dwarf writer finally confirms original Rimmer is still on the show

Photo credit: UKTV/Gareth Gatrell
Photo credit: UKTV/Gareth Gatrell

From Digital Spy

Red Dwarf spoilers follow.

One of Red Dwarf fans' biggest questions about the series has finally been solved.

The sci-fi comedy show recently returned for the movie The Promised Land, which has been hailed as one of the "best" and "fantastic" stories in the entire history of the franchise.

But one thing fans have been confused about ever since Red Dwarf has been revived is which version of Chris Barrie's Rimmer has actually been appearing in the episodes.

Photo credit: Grant Naylor Productions
Photo credit: Grant Naylor Productions

Over the course of the last 30-plus years, the original human version of Rimmer was killed off, replaced by a hologram, brought back in his true human form by nanobots and re-hologramed.

When co-creator Doug Naylor recently appeared on the Two Geeks, Two Beers podcast, he finally confirmed that the character fans are seeing in The Promised Land is actually "the original Rimmer".

"We thought it was a good story [for the original to become Ace], but obviously we want the original Rimmer back because… it's the original Rimmer," he explained. "So that's what happened when we rebooted [for Dave]."

While the writer is happy to set the record straight, he's less willing to commit to ever explaining how the original Rimmer returned in an actual episode.

Photo credit: UKTV/Gareth Gatrell
Photo credit: UKTV/Gareth Gatrell

"The thing, it's really difficult – if you spend all your time explaining things that most people aren't interested in, you're really going to be in trouble and you won't be allowed to do any more," he argued.

"You wouldn't be able to pitch, 'Quite a few fans are worrying about which Rimmer this is, let's do a whole film to sort that out' – they would just go, 'See that door? Close it behind you'.

“Red Dwarf is guilty sometimes of not caring about backstory and if we can do another new good show, we will ignore [history] a little bit. It's always been a bit guilty of that."

The Promised Land can be pre-ordered on Amazon for DVD and Blu-ray ahead of its release on June 1.


Digital Spy now has a newsletter – sign up to get it sent straight to your inbox.

Looking for more TV recommendations and discussion? Head over to our Facebook Group to see new picks every day, and chat with other readers about what they're watching right now.

You Might Also Like